Best Online places to Buy a Refurbished Mac Computer

November 15, 2010

Cupertino based tech giant Apple has indeed stormed and somewhat overshadowed the computer and Smartphone industry. With its trendy and chic gadgets, Apple is increasingly becoming a style statement in the computer world. Its gadgets like iPod, iPhone and iPad, have revolutionized the consumer electronics industry and sparked a race for the excellence. Apple computers have also been front runners in making a statement. With their sleek and different looks, users all over the world have always been longing for getting their hands on an Apple desktop or a laptop computer.

Mac computers have always been regarded by the industry experts as relatively stable machines that will go a long time if they are maintained properly and people who have been using Macs always find it hard to switch to other computer versions.

Well, if you are looking to buy a Mac and you don’t have a colossal budget then you should definitely go for a refurbished Mac laptop. There are several reasons for going for a refurbished Mac, the first and foremost is the factor of money saving. You can save around 10-30% on a refurbished Mac and this deal would give you the opportunity to enjoy powerful Mac OS and buy some useful peripheral. Before we go to know about the best places to buy refurbished Macs, first do a little research.

First Step: Research

Before you go for buying a refurbished or a used Macintosh computer, do make a detail roundup by researching for the latest models available in the market. Apple usually releases new models of laptops and desktops after every six months or so. Moreover, the upgrades that are released for various models are pretty significant enough to make a considerable difference in the performance and speed of the existing computers.

So before buying a refurbished machine, you should visit a nearest Apple retail store and check out the latest models of computers on the shelves. You should ask a flurry of queries from the sales rep like RAM internal storage space and the speed. For some users, a large size screen is pretty important so you should also gauge that factor, and of course if you are on a research trip then you should definitely make notes of your surveys.

After you are done with the research, you should definitely narrow the scope of your buy to the type of Mac you are interested in; it is up to you if you like a Macbook Air, a Macbook Pro, Macbook or iMac. The bottom line is: the more you know about the specs of the latest models the more you will be able to evaluate the refurbished machine.

Now, follow the instructions below in-order to get hold of a lucrative refurbished Mac laptop or desktop:

Apple Store

So guys the first and the foremost place to look for a refurbished Mac computer, is the mothership itself: the Apple’s own Refurbished Store. The Apple Refurbished Store can be accessed through this link [ Apple Refurbished Store ]. Normally, all the refurbished Macs listed on the store are either the recently returned machines or cancelled order machines (means Macs that are hardly being used by any). Apple has also issued a statement regarding these refurbished machines that all refurbished hardware is pretty much tested and has a 1-year certification warranty. So with all the money you will save by getting a deal on the refurbished Store, you can purchase an Apple Care Protection.

For example, if you are going for a 21.5” iMac desktop computer that is powered by a Core i3, it will cost around $1,000, while a refurbished model with the same specs will cost about $900.The refurbished Macs that are offered on Apple Store looks pretty new and customers can hardly differentiate between these models. Moreover, you may also get 10-25% price cut on the refurbished machine.

If you are looking for a specific model of refurbished Mac computer with desired specs, it is hard to find one on Apple Store. This seems to be the only drawback of this facility. In this scenario, you have to go for retailers. Some of the good retailers to buy refurbished Mac are as follows:

PowerMax has received pretty high rankings from analyst’s companies like Price Grabber and it is also an authorized Apple Dealer dealing in the refurbished and used Macs; for all types of laptops and desktops. The retailer also provides a 90-day used Mac warranty and some optional returning choices as well. PowerMax also has comprehensive trade-in programs for all kinds of computer models. The website of the retailer provides a huge variety of laptops and desktops, but sometimes the prices clash; like for a refurbished Macbook Air, Apple Refurbished Store and PowerMax offer the same price.

Another famous and popular retailer is Mac Of All Trades that also offers a huge variety of refurbished and used Mac computers where most of them have AppleCare warranty for a specified expiry time. Although, in some cases the price difference is not as high as compared to the Apple Store rather in some cases price are higher. But, if you are looking for a specific model having your desired specs then Mac Of All Trades is definitely a place, you should visit.

Apart from these sellers, there are some other good websites and places online that offer good deals on refurbished Mac computers including the likes of Amazon.com offering a large shelf variety of Macs. Moreover, GainSaver is also a famous Mac store for refurbished machines.